Faculty at Tallahassee Community College sent a stunning message to its administration and trustees Thursday, voting 139-22 to be represented by a United Faculty of Florida chapter.

The vote means full-time faculty, librarians and counselors hired as of May now will be represented by the statewide union in collective bargaining. Adjunct professors are not included in the vote.

Faculty voted by an 86.3 margin for union representation, with 87 percent of TCC’s faculty casting ballots. The vote was certified shortly after 2 p.m. by the Florida Public Employees Commission.

“We feel that now a vocal majority can be recognized at TCC, as 86 percent of the faculty voted yes,” said Jen Robinson, professor of art history and president of TCC’s non-bargaining UFF faculty chapter. “That makes it clear it is not a vocal minority. “

Robinson called Thursday’s vote a “historic victory.”

“This was not a vote against administration but a vote for faculty,” she said. “They have stood up for themselves. Our voices will now be rightfully heard on issues that impact our employment and student success. We will be part of the decision-making process not standing outside of it.”

“The focus of this College has not changed as a result of the vote,” Murdaugh said. “We will continue to deliver an affordable, accessible, high-quality education and remain one of the top-ranked colleges in the nation. What will change is the fact that we will now bargain with the faculty union to determine wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment for that bargaining unit.”

The next step is for the union and administration to appoint a bargaining team that will begin negotiations on a contract. It’s too early to tell what faculty will be proposing, including the length of the contract. But it means the administration cannot institute any new changes in the workplace.

Donna Calloway, who chairs TCC’s board of trustees, said the board will respect the action taken by faculty.

“This is the same faculty that has produced great students and still does,” she said. “I am confident the board will step up to the plate and respect the decision they have made. I’m sure we will be able to move forward together, and whatever we do will be directed at student success.”

Jennifer Proffitt, president of the United Faculty of Florida, said the vote means TCC will establish the 26th UFF chapter in the state and becomes the 10th state college to approve union representation.

Faculty at Florida State College, Manatee-Sarasota will vote later this month and there is an ongoing effort at St. Petersburg College.

The UFF has chapters at each of the state’s public universities, except Florida Polytechnic, where faculty will vote this fall.

“This vote clearly demonstrates that these dedicated faculty members understand that their collective voice is vital to improve their institution and their ability to effectively serve their students and the people of both this community and the state of Florida,” Proffitt said in a release.

Jen Robinson, professor of art history at Tallahassee Community College and union president.(Photo: Special to the Democrat)

About 70 percent or 130 faculty members signed cards in May indicating their interest in calling for a union vote. About 50 percent of them agreed to join the union if the proposal passed.

A non-bargaining chapter was established at TCC in 1995. There are about 50 members of the UFF among the faculty, and 40 more have pledged to join if the election is successful.

Thursday’s vote stands in sharp contrast to one taken in 2009 when faculty overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to give the UFF collective bargaining power.

The latest union movement was sparked by an April rift between TCC faculty and administrators when Provost Feleccia Moore-Davis had deans introduce to faculty a proposal that would have ended the standing practice of TCC professors being allowed to teach four classes per semester rather than the state required five. TCC has gotten around the mandate of a fifth class by reassigning them to other duties, also allowed by the state law.

Moore-Davis said the practice was unevenly administered, with some professors using the extra time for activities that have not been monitored or properly documented.

The proposal created major tension between faculty and Murdaugh. Some Faculty Senate members said it was another clandestine effort by the administration to subvert a spirit of "shared governance" when it comes to major policy decisions.

Faculty members already were upset that summer class loads have been expanded without their input. Professors also charged that Murdaugh's team has stalled for two years to address what faculty members say are inequalities in pay among professors and have failed to provide a substantial raise in recent years.

“Shared governance, the idea that administration, faculty, and staff should cooperate in developing policies that create the best academic environment for student learning, is an essential principle of higher education,” said Frank M. Baglione, professor of history at TCC for 26 years and a key union organizer.

As you may have heard, the faculty votes were tabulated this afternoon at the Public Employees Relations Commission’s (PERC) Tallahassee office, and our full-time faculty, librarians and counselors will now be represented by the United Faculty of Florida. This same union also represents the faculty at Florida State and Florida A&M universities.

Of the 185 faculty eligible to vote at TCC, 139 cast ballots in favor of unionization and 22 voted against the union. PERC is expected to certify the voting results in the near future.

For those of you who voted, thank you for participating in the process. As I said earlier, we will honor the path chosen by our faculty and bargain in good faith, with the intention of reaching a reasonable agreement.

While this now requires a change in our relationship with the full-time faculty, the College’s mission will remain the same. We will continue to work with our faculty and staff to provide a learning environment that prepares students for success. That is our primary objective as we move forward together.

I hope to see you all next Friday at the Eagles RISE, Building Our Future Together event, where we will celebrate the start of another semester and our 50th anniversary.